Europe

European Union nations agreed on Friday to open membership talks with Ukraine next week, officially launching the process for the war-torn country to eventually join the world's biggest trading bloc. At a meeting in Brussels, ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to officially open negotiations with Ukraine as well as with Moldova, which Russia has also tried to drag back into its orbit, on Monday in Luxembourg. Ukraine sees EU membership as an important "security guarantee" for a stable future once war with Russia ends. Its best guarantee would be NATO membership, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen. Others oppose it joining while fighting continues. Russia is strongly against it, and has cited moves toward NATO membership as a reason for launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, though it has not objected to EU membership for Kyiv. Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, ranging from agriculture to trad

Europe is accelerating efforts to strengthen its economy through market integration, industrial support and tougher trade measures, while reducing reliance on US policy under Donald Trump

Asserting that India's "reform express" is going at full speed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked Swedish companies to enhance their presence in manufacturing, green hydrogen mission

On June 14, Switzerland will vote on a plan to cap the population at 10 million, requiring a severe reduction in immigration

The United Kingdom smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave scorches parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down. A temperature of 35.1 degrees Celsius (95.2 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded at London's Kew Gardens, Britain's Met Office weather service said, breaking the 34.8 C (94.6 F) record set a day earlier at Kew. The provisional readings smashed the long-standing record of 32.8 C (91.4 F) set in 1922 and matched in 1944. London also recorded a rare "tropical night", defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 C (68 F). Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on Monday in the country's southwest and widely remained above 20 C at night. The national weather service, Meteo-France, said a "heat dome", with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather fron

Fintech firm One 97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, on Monday said its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Cloud Technologies will invest 9 million euro in its European payment entity. "...The Board of Directors of PCTL (Paytm Cloud Technologies Limited)...has approved an additional investment by way of subscription to 9 million equity shares of EUR 1 (one euro only) each at a total consideration of EUR 9 million (nine million euro), in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Paytm Europe Payments S.A (Paytm Europe)," the company said in a filing. The transaction is aimed at increasing the paid-up capital of Paytm Europe to support the funding requirements for its business. The transaction is expected to be completed on or before June 30, 2026, the company said. Paytm Europe Payments S.A., incorporated in Luxembourg on January 12, 2026, is a step-down wholly-owned subsidiary of One 97 Communications. It is yet to commence its business operations. PCTL presently holds 100 per .

Estonia can be the gateway to northern European markets for India once the FTA with the European Union comes into effect, Indian Ambassador Ashish Sinha has said, asserting that the bilateral relationship is on an upswing. In an interview with PTI, Sinha said there is a robust base of existing trade to be used as a "springboard" for further engagement between India and Estonia when the India-EU free trade agreement comes into force. The Indian Ambassador to Estonia asserted that the overall bilateral relationship is going from strength to strength and getting stronger. "Going forward, with the India-EU FTA, there will be far more engagement of the small and medium-sized industries, and the dairy and agriculture products from Estonia will find their market in India. For India, we will have Estonia as a gateway to northern Europe," Sinha told PTI. Noting that Estonia also offers e-residency, Sinha said many of the Indian businessmen and high-value industrialists have taken Estonia's

India's transition to green industrialisation will require a wide-range of technological inputs, infrastructure financing, and specialised expertise

PM Modi also highlighted the deepening civilisational and cultural ties between India and Italy, noting growing interest in Indian traditions such as yoga, Ayurveda, cuisine, and art in Italy

Rome increasingly understands that the future of European competitiveness, economic resilience and strategic diversification will depend upon trusted industrial partnerships beyond the Continent

The Pentagon is drawing down thousands of troops in Europe by cancelling deployments to Poland and Germany as opposed to yanking forces already stationed there, US officials say, as President Donald Trump has tussled with allies over the Iran war and called for changes. Several U.S. officials confirmed that 4,000 troops from the Army's 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were no longer en route to Poland this week. The Trump administration had previously said it was cutting US forces only in Germany, and the decision spurred questions and criticism in both Warsaw and Washington. Two officials told The Associated Press that the deployments were canceled after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo directing the Joint Chiefs of Staff to move a brigade combat team out of Europe. One of them said the choice of which unit was left to military leaders. Besides the Army combat team based in Fort Hood, Texas, the memo also led to the cancellation of an upcoming ...

The European Union-India partnership is "limitless, ambitious and progressive" and both sides have elevated the relationship to a "totally new level" in both qualitative and strategic terms, EU Ambassador Herve Delphin has said. In an address at an event, the envoy also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "not an era of war" message "deeply resonates" with Europe's values and identity, and called the EU "fundamentally a peace project". Characterising the EU-India summit held three and a half months ago as a milestone, Delphin said the confluence of symbolism, substance and strategic significance resulted in "momentous outcomes". "We have placed our relationship to a totally new level, in qualitative and strategic terms. The EU-India partnership is limitless, ambitious and progressive," he said. "These achievements would not have been possible without the political conviction and trust shared by our leaders," the envoy said at the Europe Day celebrations on Friday night. Delp

He also stressed the importance of continued US troop presence in Europe amid concerns about possible reductions

Germany's defense minister on Saturday appeared to take in stride a Pentagon announcement that the United States plans to pull some 5,000 troops out of the country, President Donald Trump's latest attempt to reduce America's commitment to European security. Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump has threatened for years, was expected, and he said European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defense. But he also emphasized that security cooperation benefited both sides of the trans-Atlantic partnership. "The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US," Pistorius told the German news agency dpa. The planned withdrawal faced bipartisan resistance in Washington, with swift criticism from Democrats and concern from Republicans that it would send the "wrong signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose full=scale invasion of Ukraine recently entered its fifth year. Trump's decis

In response to heavy criticism from Washington over defence spending, European ‌Nato members, including Germany, have pledged to ‌take on more responsibility for their own ‌defence

Hungarian oil group MOL said on Wednesday that Ukraine had informed it that deliveries of Russian crude had resumed through the pipeline

The European Union expressed its commitment to standing alongside the 'people of India in remembrance of the innocent victims murdered one year ago'

Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, hoping to finally elect a parliament able to resolve the longtime political impasse that has gripped this Balkan country. The snap vote follows the resignation of a conservative-led government amid nationwide protests last December that drew hundreds of thousands, mainly young people, to the streets. The protesters called for an independent judiciary to tackle widespread corruption. Since 2021, the nation of 6.5 million has struggled with fragmented parliaments that produced weak governments, none of which managed to survive more than a year before being brought down by street protests or backroom deals in parliament. The revolving door of governments has fostered widespread public mistrust, voter apathy and a shrinking turnout in elections. Still, Sunday's vote is significant as it could bring to power a left-leaning, pro-Russian former president - just days after Hungarian voters rejected the ...

The delays underline the degree to which the war against Iran, which began with U.S.-Israeli air strikes on February 28, has begun to stretch U.S. supplies of some critical weaponry and ammunition